In the wild, Lady Amherst's Pheasant occurs in Tibet, Southwestern China, and northern Burma, but it has also been introduced in Britain. It is named after Sarah, Countess of Amherst (1762-1838). Her husband, William Pitt Amherst, Governor General of India, was responsible for sending the first birds to London in the early 1800's. They are highly secretive and rarely emerge into the open, seen best in early morning or late afternoon in winter.
Genus Chrysolophus
Family Phasianidae
Order Galliformes
Class Aves
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
Index